⌈ The Japanese company TiGLON was founded in 2008. Initially named Kryna Pro, it changed its name to TiGLON in 2010, and its founder and chief designer is Mr. KENTARO OKINO. We are testing the anti-vibration feet, model MZX-4. ⌋

RODUCTS FROM THE JAPANESE COMPANY TIGLON are presented in "High Fidelity" on a regular basis. The reason is simple: they are relatively inexpensive, yet they bring technical solutions of their own invention that translate into very cool, attractive sound. In the case of Mr. KENTARO OKINO’S company, the primary solution it uses throughout its product line is the use of MAGNESIUM. We have written about this many times, but it is worth saying a few words about it this time as well.

In an interview accompanying the test of the TPL-2000A AC power cable, the Tiglon chief said he became interested in the "sound" of different materials through tuning a luxurious 1959 vintage Les Paul electric guitar. He discovered the potential of magnesium, in turn, by studying the sounds produced by interacting different types of metal and wood; more → HERE.

This material is used by this company primarily in cables, infusing the foil screen with this material and equipping them with passive HF filters in which it is an important component. Yet they were not the beginning of the brand, so to speak, as it all started with anti-vibration products. First came the MGT-60S speaker stands. In addition to its electrical properties, it also has special mechanical properties, which makes it work well as a vibration-reducing material. The stands in question appeared in the range as early as 2005, and it wasn't until 2008 that its use for cable shielding was patented.

The company materials read: "Unlike aluminum and copper, magnesium has high internal attenuation, so there is no metallic "ringing" that accompanies other metals." This claim is supported by measurements provided by the Japan Electric Cable Technology Center (JECTEC). As the Tiglon TMB-DR20E anti-vibration platform test showed, these are not empty words.

▌ MZX-4

TIGLON'S LINEUP includes several different types of anti-vibration products. These are: racks, platforms, accessories that the manufacturer calls "tuning" ones, speaker stands also for Harbeth-type speakers. The MZX-4 feet we tested can be found in the "Tuning Accessories" section with the subtitle "Hybrid Insulators".

Introduced in February 2022, the MZX-4s are small, lightweight anti-vibration feet. Standing 33 mm tall, they are ϕ 48 mm in diameter at the bottom and 33 mm at the top. Each weighs 49 g and is designed to support products weighing no more than 20 kg. For four feet, however, it adds up to 80 kg.

By describing their design as hybrid, the manufacturer meant that they are made of two types of materials. The heart of them consists of two magnesium alloy elements: a base with a milled recess (cup) and the element on which the device is placed, which has a blade on the side of the base. Thus, it is a mechanically simple assembly based on extinguishing vibrations by draining them from the top through a mechanical "diode" (that's the aforementioned blade). Vibrations are extinguished both in the lower disc and in the plywood piece into which it is fitted; it is this second type of material. The plywood is made from Russian birch, according to the manufacturer.

The manufacturer describes the concept as follows:

The shape of the cup prevents the spikes from falling or sliding, and the hybrid structure ensures a well-balanced and filled sound. In addition, the "D-REN Tuning Ring," which was first used in the flagship "GMR" stand, is mounted inside the cup to create an all-encompassing listening experience.

⸜ → TIGLON.co.jp, accessed: 19.06.2023.

The D-REN Ring they mention is indeed a puck that is applied to the feet in their top rack. Its name suggests its purposes: "drain" is designed to channel vibrations outward and discharge static electricity. Here the ring has been inserted into the base. And, note, it is not any "ring", but one made of a selected material, and Tiglon owns, associated with it, patent obtained later in 2019.

Let’s add ,that both magnesium components can also be purchased as stand-alone products. The MZ-1 is then a stand with a bowl, and the MZ-2 is a stand with a spike. And one more thing: these feet are available in both three and four pieces sets. In the first case, the product is called MZX-3 and we will pay 1000 PLN for it, and in the second case, MZX-4 and it costs 1150 PLN; it is really an inexpensive, very nice-looking product.

▌ SOUND

˻ HOW WE LISTENED ˺ TiGLON's anti-vibration feet have been tested in the "High Fidelity" reference system. I always test anti-vibration feet in my system in the same way - using them under the signal source, sometimes assisted by other devices/accessories. This time I tested them under the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge file player, as they seemed more suitable in this role.

During the test I have to move the player, so its connections must be flexible. For this purpose I use Crystal Cable Absolute Dream interconnects. The player is powered by an external Nordost QSource power supply. The comparison consists of listening to the same piece of music (2 minutes long) on the reference feet and transferring the player to the test feet.

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

⸜ FOO FIGHTERS, But Here We Are, Roswell | RCA/Tidal Master, MQA Studio FLAC 24/48 (2023).
⸜ SAULT, Untiltled (Black Is), Forever Living Originals/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1 (2020).
⸜ DREAMING OF GHOST feat. FIORA, Close Your Eyes. Slowed + Reverb, Trees and Cyborgs/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1, SP (2023).
⸜ POLYPHIA, Remember That You Will Die, Rise Records/Tidal Master, MQA Studio FLAC 16/44,1 (2022).
⸜ ARNE DOMNÉRUS Jazz at the Pawnshop. 30th Anniversary, Proprius/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1 (1977/?).
⸜ BILLIE HOLIDAY Body and Soul, Verve Records/Tidal Master, MQA FLAC 24/192 (1957/2012).
⸜ ROB GRANT, Lost at Sea, Universal Music/Tidal Master, MQA Studio FLAC 24/48 (2023).
⸜ TADEUSZ NALEPA, To mój blues, Polskie Nagrania Muza Warner Music Poland/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1 (1989/2014).

» The track come from HIGH FIDELITY: TiGLON MZX-4 playlist available at Tidal → HERE.

COMPARED TO THE MANY anti-vibration feet I've tested in recent times, whether it was the PRO AUDIO BONO CERAMIC 70 UNI-FOOT |PL|, or even the HARMONIX RF-808Z "MILLION", the ones offered by Tiglon seem inconspicuous. Lightweight, small, in a modest package. Yet they affect the sound and do so in a very cool way.

Listened to with them, FOO FIGHTERS from their new album But Here We Are sounded deeper and denser. This is a really good production, maybe without low bass and with quite high compression, but overall - very good. The Japanese feet emphasized its depth. Without them everything was fine, I knew what I was dealing with. Once the file player was placed on them, however, everything gained mass, as if the gravity under the instruments was increasing, and they had to be magnified in every dimension to defy it.

The same was also true when it came to Wildfires by the SAULT, a project with Adele vocals. Removing the player from the feet caused the whole track to have a smaller volume, converging slightly toward center of the stage and not having the same weight as before. On the feet, the second bass instrument entering after some time in parallel with the primary one was clearer and more clearly located slightly to the left of the axis.

The voice was also more spacious and deeper then. Although, after all, here it is withdrawn on stage and passed through various effects distorting it, with the player on the feet it was clearer and you could hear more of the spatial aura around it. Without the feet, it was slightly dry" and diminished. Yes, the scale of sound is much larger with them. Interestingly, there is no effect that we perceive as better sound definition. The bass, that deep and soft bass from the Close Your Eyes. Slowed + Reverb by the DREAMING OF GHOST duo feat. FIORA was still soft and deep. But it was also bigger, creating an impression of its softness being enhanced one step further.

I noticed another thing on this occasion. After taking the player off the Tiglon's feet, the volume decreased and the whole thing seemed quieter. You could tell that the whole thing was a bit further away from me than with the feet. The feet, in turn, caused the foreground to zoom in and all subsequent layers to zoom out. Yet it was not about over-emphasizing this aspect. I often deal with a similar effect when products modify the sound by warming it up. Here, there was no warming, but a broadening of the bandwidth on both sides and a lengthening of the perspective. That's why everything seemed bigger and closer to me.

Ego Polyphia (feat. Steve Vai) by the POLYPHIA, a track from its album Remember That You Will Die, begins with a guitar solo, in a sizable space, away from us. In a moment, drums and several guitar tracks enter, already clustered opposite us. In doing so, what I mentioned earlier came out perfectly. The MZX-4's feet enhance the sound, but together with perspective. So they don't push it in front of the foreground, but pull the stage back. The Tiglon placed the solo farther away from me at first, and the room in which the instrument was playing seemed larger. In contrast, when the sound hit right in the middle, close to me, it was stronger and more "here and now."

I ended the test with some Polish music. One of the friendly mastering engineers sent me two tracks from CDs he's currently working on, both in DSD and PCM, for evaluation. It's top secret, I can't say what it's about, but it's worth waiting for, because one of the big Polish labels will be offering a lot of Polish music in the best available digital format before long. And they will be excellent remasters, as long as I can say based on this small sample.

In any case, the scale offered by the Japanese feet made the sound noticeably fuller, denser and thus more enjoyable. Polish recordings suffer from dryness and leanness, usually a derivative of poor tape, but just as often originating in imperfect mastering. The better ones, like TADEUSZ NALEPA's recordings from the To mój Blues album, released on CD in 2014 and presented on LP two years later, are very nice indeed. Collecting recordings from 1982-1988, the two-disc solo album brings a very good sound, although not exactly filled and dense.

Tiglon, on the one hand, shows that the tracks differ, and on the other, signals the master that was supposed to bring them together. But above all, it gently pushes the whole thing in the direction it should follow. It not only shifts the focus a little lower, but above all energizes the sound and "give it wings", if I may say so. Włodzimierz Krakus' bass from Dbaj o miłość was less "boxy" with them, and more fluid, less contoured, and softer. Leszek Cichoński's guitar also gained weight, but most importantly had a better defined reverb. This was a change in the right direction.

▌ Summary

I WOULD NOT SAY YOU THAT TiGLON'S FEET are revolutionizing sound. This is not the case. Rather, they assist it. They gently push it in the right direction than change it significantly. However, their effect is extremely palatable. They saturate and fill in the sound. They cause the air in the recordings to be clear, and the overall volume to be greater. And above all, the recordings are more interesting, more energetic with them. The change may seem small, but once we get used to having them under our devices, it will be hard to return to a world without them. ●